


Therapy Gone Right

by Legendary_Map_Maker



Series: The Trauma of Dr. Therapist [2]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender, OneShot (Video Game), Persona 5, Persona Series, Skullgirls (Video Game), Steven Universe (Cartoon), 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
Genre: Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Author Doesn't Know How Group Therapy Works, Comedy, Crack, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Gen, How Do I Tag, Hurt/Comfort, Mario Party, Medical Inaccuracies, Parody, Spoilers, Therapy, They Play Mario Party Together
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-18
Updated: 2021-03-18
Packaged: 2021-03-25 22:34:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,757
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30096147
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Legendary_Map_Maker/pseuds/Legendary_Map_Maker
Summary: Dr. Therapist returns from retirement to handle a group therapy. His friend, the usual host for "Sad Children Becoming Happy" is sick and needs him to substitute for her. Sure, he didn't have time to read the notes on the group's participants, but he should be able to handle it. They're going to play Mario Party most of the meeting anyways!One question: who's the guy in a sleeping bag in the corner of the room?(Technically a sequel to Therapy Gone Wrong, this can be read as a standalone one shot.)
Series: The Trauma of Dr. Therapist [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2214534
Kudos: 6





	Therapy Gone Right

**Author's Note:**

> First time I wrote a crossover fanfic, so I'm curious how this turned out. This is probably my most niche fic yet, haha.
> 
> Just like last time I wrote a story with Dr. Therapist, I don't think anything in this story requires a content warning, but the jokes in it may bring to mind uncomfortable things. This is the last warning mentioning that there will be jokes that are, bordering on being, in poor taste.
> 
> As always, comments and feedback are appreciated!

Dr. Therapist was supposed to be retired. After getting attacked by three immortal beings, and then doing therapy for probably the most violent person he's ever met, he decided to end his career before he himself would need therapy. Also before his injuries got any worse. He was no longer in a full-body cast, but he still had bandages around every part of his body.

However, he was still licensed, and an old friend of his fell sick. This friend needed someone to host her support group or group therapy (Dr. Therapist could never remember which it was) this week or else it would need to be canceled. Reluctantly, Dr. Therapist agreed to fill in for her.

With such short notice, he had to read her description of the support group on the way to the meeting place. It was called “Sad Children Becoming Happy.” The name was a bit on the nose, but apparently his friend's first three picks of names were taken by other similar support groups in the area.

Short on time, he skimmed over the description. He had just started to read the summaries about the patients when he reached the location. He had to put the folder away, at least for now, as he stepped into the room.

It was a meeting room with a desk in the back. There was a large television mounted to a wall on the side. A ring of seats surrounded a large table in the center. On the table were some trays of snacks, including chips, fish sticks, and juice boxes.

It looked like most of the patients were already there. A boy with black curly hair spoke to a boy with a burn scar on his face. A child who looked a little like a cat was sipping from a juice box. A girl with a horn sat at the table, seeming to be contemplating her bowl of chips. Lastly, there was a girl dressed as a maid with a blue fire in her back vacuuming with a skeletal vacuum-cleaner. Strange crowd, to say the least.

The boy with curly hair greeted him first. “Hello! Are you the one filling in for-:”

“Yes,” Dr. Therapist answered. “I'll be filling in for her for your group meeting today. Let me set my stuff down.”

“Be careful,” the boy with a scar said, “not to trip on Mr. Aizawa.”

“Who?” Dr. Therapist asked. As he went behind the desk, he noticed a mass of cloth on the floor. Upon closer inspection, it was a sleeping bag. With a person inside it. “Ah! What the f-:”

“Friendship!” the first boy interrupted, panically censoring the swear.

“Honor!” the second boy interrupted, for the same purpose.

“Fish stick,” said the cat-kid. They weren't sure why people were shouting random words, but they wanted to join in.

“F-fault?” asked the horn-girl. She also wasn't sure what was going on.

“Foolish Medici?” asked the maid-girl, pausing her vacuuming. At this point, no one knew what was happening.

The man in the sleeping bag had messy hair. His eyes were obscured by that, as well as a strange pair of goggle over his face. Dr. Therapist couldn't help but ask “Is he... dead?”

“No,” the maid-girl said immediately. “I would know.”

“No,” the boy with curly hair said. “He's here in case of emergency. He doesn't want to impose, so he stays in the back...”

“He stays in a sleeping bag the whole time,” the boy with the scar said.

“Is he... asleep?” Dr. Therapist asked.

“I wish...” Aizawa groaned. His sleeping bag moved slightly as he adjusted his resting position.

“Why are you... down there?” Dr. Therapist asked. He had seen a lot of strange things since he got here, but somehow the shaggy man sleeping on the floor was the wierdest.

“Come closer...” Aizawa mumbled. Dr. Therapist took a step toward the man. He groaned. “I mean... lean down here.”

Dr. Therapist felt strange as he crouched down and gave an ear to the man with goggles. “Why are you down there?”

“You're the substitute, right?” Aizawa whispered. “What do you know about the kids here?”

“Uh...” The folder was still under Dr. Therapist's arm. “I... started reading their files.”

Aizawa sighed. “Okay. Some kids here got powers. That one over there-” he nodded his head to the table, which didn't really indicate who he was talking about at all, “-has a power that could kill everyone here by accident. I have the power to turn off other people's powers. I have to be here to keep that from happening.”

Aizawa pulled a hand out of his sleeping bag, his fingers wrapped around a case of eye drops. He dropped some of its liquid onto the slits of his goggles, which presumably allowed some of it into each of his eyes. “Using it gives me dry eye...”

“O-kay...” Dr. Therapist started to get back up.

“Just pretend I'm not here.”

That would be a lot easier said than done. Dr. Therapist just ignored the strange man and set his things down on the desk. He skimmed through his folder of info, which was pretty much his bible right now, for what to do at the start. He felt a tap on his shoulder. “Hmm?”

It was the boy with curly hair. “Hi, I'm Steven Quartz Universe, from Beach City. I, uh... couldn't help but notice you were a bit hurt...”

“Oh, these?” Dr. Therapist asked. He was used to people pointing out his bandages. He joked “I wear these for fun.”

He and Steven shared a laugh. “Yeah, well... I have healing powers, so, if you want, I could use it to heal you.”

Steven seemed excited at the opportunity to help. Dr. Therapist vaguely recalled reading about someone there who was too selfless. He also considered what Aizawa said; he didn't know which patient had the potentially deadly power. Better not to risk it... “No thanks, but thanks for the offer.”

“Oh.” Steven was surprised and deflated a bit. “No, that's fine. That's great, even. That's great!”

The boy laughed awkwardly as he backed away from the doctor.

Dr. Therapist tried to finish reading the notes his friend gave to him. Skimming over it, it looked like her plan for this week was introductions to a new patient, some discussions of their progress, and apparently she promised to let them play some games this meeting. Dr. Therapist took a breath. Okay, he could do that...

He looked over the table. All the children were now sitting at it, looking at him. Each had a bowl of snacks in front of them, some with juice boxes.

“Hello, everyone!” Dr. Therapist announced. “As you all probably know, your usual councilor is sick. I'm Dr. Therapist, and I'll be here as her substitute. This week's meeting will be simple; we'll be meeting a new patient, discuss our progress, and then...” He paused for dramatic effect, doing a drumroll with his hands against the table. Ow! He forgot they were broken. “...Play some games!”

There were cheers from most of the group: three-out-of-five is barely most, but it counts.

There was a hand up from the girl with a horn.

“Yes, miss...” he dragged it out, implying he needed a name.

She put her hand down. “Are you scared of me?”

“W-wha... huh? Why do you think I'm scared of you?”

The girl looked down and mumbled “Because you're staying over there, and people who are near me get hurt.”

“We're not hurt, Eri” the boy with the scar pointed out.

“What about...” she pointed to her eye.

The boy brought a hand to his face, over his own eye. The eye with a scar. “Oh, I had that before I met you. You didn't cause it.”

Shoot. Wait, he's only thinking it, the kids here won't hear him swear! Shit! He forgot all these kids are in fragile places of mind. One slip-up of body language could make things worse! If he's physically separate from the kids like this, they may feel closed off from him. This is, like, psychology 101! (At least, he thinks it is. It's been a while since he took that class.) Regardless, he needed to patch things up before they got worse. “I'll be joining you all shortly. I just needed to organize some things at this desk.”

“Okay...” Eri mumbled.

Dr. Therapist felt a tug at his ankle. Aizawa was holding out a sheet of paper for him. He mumbled, too quiet for the children to hear, “Here's a list of trigger words to avoid using _carelessly_. Obviously, don't let them see it.”

Dr. Therapist committed the list to memory before he folded it and stuffed it in his pocket. It was a strange collection of words, but that just shows how varied each of their experiences were. Of course, the subjects would need to be brought up for them to make progress, but it was good for a substitute like him to know what to be careful about, seeing as he didn't know where they were in recovery, how sensitive each of them were to their triggers, nor what happened that made them triggers in the first place.

The list was: Diamond, Quartz, Homeworld, Fusion, Jasper, Gem, Mother, Honor, Avatar, Agni Kai, Sister, Father, Mafia, Medici, Peacock, Patricia, Double, Valentine, The Last Hope, Wish, Skullheart, Skullgirl, Lightbulb, Sun, God, World, Messiah, Your Fault, Kill, Dead, Overhaul, Nighteye, Lemillion, Million, Deku.

How Dr. Therapist was able to memorize that list so quickly? He could only assume it was an act of G-... a divine being. This might be harder than he thought...

“Who's the new person?” the cat-kid asked.

“Yeah, I can't wait to meet them,” Steven said.

“You mean they aren't here yet?” Dr. Therapist asked. There was a shake of heads around the table. From timing so perfect it must have been a contrived fanfiction, there was a knock at the door. “It's open!”

Dr. Therapist proceeded to scream. Two figures stood in the doorway

“Now wait a moment,” the dangerously-familiar man in blue next to Lavenza said. “It is you, the man who tried to take our sister! Is this another ploy to take her from us!”

There was suspicious looks from each of the children around him. He was pretty sure at least half of them were getting ready to fight him. Where did the shield come from?!

“There was a misunderstanding,” he explained. “I called CPS because I misunderstood the magic stuff for metaphor stuff.”

Somehow, everyone accepted that easily. “Yeah, yeah. Magic. Causes misunderstandings. Yup, makes sense.”

The man in blue pressed his lips together. “Very well. Lavenza, notify us immediately if anything happens. Feel free to defend yourself, should the man attempt to pose a threat.”

Lavenza nodded happily. “Yes, Theodore!”

“I will return to pick you up when this is over,” Theodore said before leaving.

Lavenza took a seat at the table next to the cat-person kid. They passed her a bowl of snacks and a juice box. She thanked them.

“Okay...” the doctor began. “ _Now_ , it is time for introductions. Would anyone like to start us off? Feel free to share only what you feel comfortable with.”

“I can start!” Steven said. He stood up for the group. “My name is Steven Quartz Universe. I'm working on accepting help from others more. As an example of progress from our last meeting, someone held a door open for me yesterday, and I didn't ask for them to go through first.”

The boy was proud of himself, and he received a soft round of applause as he sat down.

The boy with a scar stood up next. “Hello. Zuko here. Uh, most of you probably already know that, because we did these introductions last time. And the time before. Um... As I said, I'm still working on controlling my anger and stuff. I don't want to end up like the rest of my family. At least, like my father and sister. My mom and uncle are both good. I've been working on this for a while, even before I came here, so I've made a lot of progress, like, I used to be a lot worse... which you also already know.” Zuko took a deep breathe. “I want to make sure I have full control over it. As an example of progress, uh... Since our last meeting, my friends Sokka and Toph played a prank on me, but I didn't blow up at them. I walked away for a few minutes to compose myself. When I returned to the courtyard, they already got rid of the stone chicken-rabbit statues.”

Another soft round of applause as he sat back down. Dr. Therapist didn't clap because he was confused. He wasn't sure if Zuko meant the statues were of both chickens and rabbits, or if it was some disturbing hybrid his friends had made up. Probably the former; that made more sense to him.

“Oh, is it my turn!” the cat-kid sitting on the opposite side of the table said. Excited, they stood up. “I'm Niko. I'm a person, not a cat! A few days ago, a lightbulb went out at home, and I didn't scream this time.”

They promptly sat back down and took another sip from their juice box.

“I suppose it is my turn,” the maid-girl said. She stood up from her seat. “I am Marie Korbel. I met with Patricia yesterday. I was able to ignore the rage I felt. We were able to share a slice of pie even though seeing her reminded me of what the slave traders in Rommelgrad did to her. Furthermore, I have successfully reduced the number of Medici I've ki...” she paused, glancing at Eri and Niko. “...hurt, in one week, from twenty to five since we last met.”

The applause was less enthuastic from Zuko and Steven as she sat down. Steven laughed nervously. “That's great... maybe you can lower it to zero before next week. Haha...”

“It is best we do not push our luck... it is likely to rise back up,” Marie said. Dr. Therapist was a little concerned, and it didn't help she was smiling when she said it would go back up. “As a note, Squigly and Carol apologize for their absence. They are attending the birthday party of Filia Medici. For obvious reasons, I declined the invitation.”

“That reminds me,” Zuko said, “Aang wanted me to tell you guys why he's not here this week. He's investigating rumors of a surviving herd of sky bison.”

“Again?” Steven asked.

“He said the source was more credible this time,” Zuko said.

“Do you think he'll bring one next time?” Niko asked. “I've never seen a bison.”

“It probably wouldn't fit in this room,” Zuko said apologetically. “Sorry.”

Eri looked around the table. “Is it my turn to talk now?”

“It is if you want it to be,” Steven said softly.

“Um... I'm Eri,” she said. “I'm still learning to smile so I can do it at the school festival. I'm really close.” She used her fingers to pull up the sides of her mouth. “Is it close?”

“It is marvelously accurate, Eri,” Marie said. Eri had a confused expression in her eyes. “Yes, it is close. Can you do it without your fingers?”

“Uh...” Eri removed her fingers. Her mouth fell back into a neutral position. She spent a moment trying to drag the corners up. It was very small, but there was a smile on her face. “Is this a smile?”

“Yeah!” Niko cheered.

Eri's smile grew. “Does that mean they'll be happy they helped me now?”

“I would presume they were already happy they helped you,” Lavenza said. “I have seen many regrets within humans, but rarely for helping another human.”

“I guess your turn is left,” Steven said to Lavenza. “If you feel comfortable having a turn, that is.”

“I find no unease in speaking,” Lavenza said. She stood up. With a bow, she introduced herself. “My name is Lavenza. I am one who rules over power. Some time ago, a malevolent being had torn me into two. After some time of servitude, I was saved by my Trickster. Even though I have been reformed into a single being, I still find myself... disturbed, by what had transpired.”

“Is it that you seek revenge?” Marie asked.

“No,” Lavenza denied. “My Trickster had slain the false God responsible with the help of all mankind, so-:”

Niko's eyes widened in concern. “He killed God?”

“It was merely a false God: a charlatan. It was not truly a God.”

“Okay...” Niko calmed down. “If you do see God, tell them I miss them.”

Lavenza was confused. “...Should the opportunity arise, I shall try.”

“Please,” Dr. Therapist interjected, directed at Niko, “refrain from speaking during someone else's turn.”

“Sorry,” Niko said. They slumped back into their seat.

Zuko raised a hand. “Is it that you feel you've lost your honor?”

“I had considered this,” Lavenza said. “I admit, it is an embarrassment that I fell to this being so easily. Yet, even the master of the Velvet Room fell to him, so this cannot be the only reason...”

“Do you feel guilty you needed to be saved?” Steven asked.

“No, I had asked for his help. 'If you fail, then the path to the Holy Grail will be lost forever,' or some shit like that.” There was a moment of shock as everyone noticed Lavenza swearing. Zuko covered Eri's ears, and Marie covered Niko's (at least, the ones on their hat). “Oh, my apologies. I have been told I've spent too much time with the Trickster's blond, vulgar friend. Although, both he and the Trickster's sister disagree. She's fun; she wants to keep me.”

As Lavenza smiled, looks of concern were shared among the group. Steven asked “Is she okay?”

Dr. Therapist was all too aware of the consequences of misinterpreting what Lavenza said. “Don't worry, I've spoken to her before. I'm sure it's all a misunderstanding, and everything is fine.”

Lavenza nodded. “Yes, everything is bonkin'!”

More confusion.

“What's 'bonkin''?” asked Niko.

“Oh,” Lavenza said. “Um... it means... dope?”

“Ah, I see,” Marie said. “Bonkin is a narcotic.”

“No!” Lavenza yelled. “It's like... uh... it is like lit.”

Zuko held up a hand, which he had engulfed in flames. “Like this? Is this 'bonkin''?”

“No!”

“Uh...” Steven scratched the back of his neck. “Is bonkin' like cool, or good? Another slang word for that?”

“Yes!” Lavenza cheered. “Hooray! Someone here understands it!”

Dr. Therapist held his head in his hands. “I'm sure there was a point to this at some point...”

“Lavenza,” Zuko started, “What about being split in two upset you?”

A direct approach, but it seemed to work. Dr. Therapist made a mental note to thank Zuko later. He would forget this mental note, not through malice, but through the natural failings of the human mind.

Lavenza thought about the question for a moment. “I suppose it was the experience itself, at least in-part. The odds were entirely against the Trickster, so there was no guarantee I, or my family, would be saved. I was... scared. I was scared the rest of my existence would be as the false God's slave. Scared I would be slain once his mission done, once he had humanity subdued and oppressed.

“I lost control of myself. As the twins, my memory of my true life was blocked, and so I mistreated the Trickster.” Lavenza was shaking. It seemed she only realized what she was saying as she said it. Her words were a stream of consciousness. “This lack of control... it remains even now. Even reformed as a single being, I find myself lacking the dexterity I once had. There are times when I'm confused, or frustrated, or even resting, that I imagine it happening again... that I relive the false God's attack...”

Lavenza went quiet. There was silence for a moment.

“Do you want another juice box?” Niko asked.

Lavenza was pulled out of her thoughts. She smiled. “Yes, thank you.”

They handed it to her, the straw already inserted into it. “It's grape.”

“I do not believe I've had 'grape' before.” She took a sip. “I believe I like grape.”

“Do you feel comfortable continuing, Lavenza?” Dr. Therapist asked. He had to be careful to make clear it was entirely her choice whether or not she did. “Is there anything else you want to talk about?”

Lavenza looked away from the group. She took another sip, then said “No... in fact, I would somewhat prefer if we pretend that had not happened.”

Zuko raised a hand. “Who are you? You haven't introduced yourself.”

Steven lowered Zuko's hand. “I don't think she meant that part.”

“Is there anything anyone wants to say, or share, before we move on?” Dr. Therapist asked. Considering he knew very little about each of their stories, he was glad most of the session would be playing a game. Of the six, he was most aware of Lavenza's story, and even then, he had little info considering he wrongly called CPS last time.

When no one objected to the change of topic, Dr. Therapist excused himself to check something at his desk. He tried to make it appear as though he was looking for something, but really he was trying to read the notes about what game they were playing. Apparently, his friend had a Nintendo Wii console in her desk, alongside four controllers. Within was Mario Party 8.

He explained to the group what they were playing, and the regular participants were excited; it would seem this wasn't the first time their group played Mario Party. Although the last time they played seemed to be before Eri joined, so she and Lavenza needed an explanation on how to play.

–

There was one hurdle between them and playing Mario Party. It was a four-player game, and there was six of them. Steven and Zuko offered to team up, and Lavenza said she was willing to share so she could have time to learn the controls. Marie conceded half of her turns to Lavenza.

The game started with MC Ballyhoo (the announcer of the game) explaining Shy Guy's Perplex Express to Luigi (Eri), Waluigi (Steven and Zuko), Yoshi (Niko), and Dry Bones (Lavenza and Marie). The turn order was as listed above, and things mostly went well. Mostly.

“Oh, I've seen my Trickster handle these!” Lavenza announced when she and Marie were the first to reach the conductor. “We remove its mask and combat it when its true form is revealed.”

“It has a mask?” Eri asked, still mesmerized by the moving images on screen.

“Uh, Lavenza,” Steven said. “That's not how this game-:”

“Hush. She is my teammate, and so it shall be I who explains it to her.” Marie said, a hand extended. She turned to her partner. “If that is so, how do you intend to do it. What would be the buttons for it.”

“Um...” Lavenza turned the controller around, pressing each of the buttons with it pointed at Shy Guy's face. “Perhaps my assumption proved incorrect. So there is no more to this than the exchange of coins?”

Marie nodded.

Dry Bones did a dance as he received a star: the first star of the game. Lavenza cheered. “Team Persona takes the lead!”

“Team Persona?” Marie asked.

“Hmm? I presumed you were a Persona-user. Is that not what burns within your back.” Lavenza poked the Skullheart, then pulled her hand back. “Ouch! It's hot... Maybe it's not a Persona afterall.”

“I would advise you not to touch it,” Marie warned. “It is dangerous and cursed.”

“Like me?” Eri asked.

Zuko patted her on the head. “You're not cursed, Eri.”

“Right. Sorry, I forgot...”

“No need to apologize,” Steven said. “These things happen. If every pork chop were perfect, we wouldn't have hot dogs, and if progress was a straight line, we wouldn't need therapists.”

Dr. Therapist shuddered at the thought. He couldn't imagine his life if he never legally changed his name. If not a Therapist, what would he have become!

–

“How does she keep on doing this!” Zuko groaned. Eri had landed on the lucky space. For the third time.

“Luck plays a role in success,” Lavenza said. “It would seem to side more with her, presently.”

“If she insists upon building her victory over our graves, than we shall rise from them!” Marie declared. Dr. Therapist internally wondered how much edgy poetry she'd written. Not that there was anything wrong with that, the doctor would assure.

“Don't worry guys,” Steven said, attempting to diffuse the tension, “we all still got plenty of turns in the game. A lot can happen.”

“Why does Deku keep leaving the train?” Eri asked. She pointed to the train as it left Luigi at Payday Station. “I want to go back.”

–

“157 coins are on the line for Cut from the Team!” Marie yelled. It was a 50-coin battle minigame, and the minigame wheel chose the only one that was pure-luck. A player who set down their controller had the same odds of winning as one who did not. “This is a gross misjustice!”

Zuko laughed as he cut the first rope. “At least we only put in 8 coins. We can only win from this!”

“That's the spirit, Zuko!” Steven cheered. Words uttered before disaster, for the first snip was followed by Waluigi being hurled far away. “Uh... spoke too soon? Heh.”

Zuko gave Steven the controller. He then held his head in his hands and groaned.

–

“You're doing really good, Eri,” Niko said. “You have the most stars _and_ the most coins.”

Eri pointed to Luigi. “Deku's helping.”

“She doesn't even know what she's doing...” Zuko said.

“We still have Chump Charity to look forward to,” Steven said. He gave Zuko reassuring pats on the back.

“That's five turns away! Do you really think we won't get out of last by then?”

“Of course we will,” Steven said. “But it's something to keep in mind, in case we don't.”

–

Five turns later, Zuko and Steven used the Duelo Candy to take two stars from Eri in the most one-sided duel in Mario Party history. In their defense, she had stepped on the space in front of them on her last turn. She was still in first, but this allowed Zuko and Steven to surpass Niko in their number of stars.

The game was much closer, far more neck-and-neck.

–

“So how do bonus stars work?” Lavenza asked.

“We each receive a star for having the best score in a random category,” Marie said, her gaze focused on the screen. “If we get one bonus star more than Zuko, Steven, and Eri, then we'll get first place.”

“Meanwhile...” Zuko began, also focused on MC Ballyhoo's small-talk reminiscing about the match. Oftentimes, the announcer would give hints as to what bonus stars would appear during this. It didn't make a difference. The game was over, and all that was left was to hear the results. “Steven and I win if we get one bonus star, and Eri gets none.”

“How can I win?” Niko asked.

“I didn't keep track of your coins,” Steven said, “but I think you need all three bonus stars to win. If you get two, but one of us gets the third, then I think we'd have more stars than you.”

“Quiet!” Lavenza said. “They're announcing the bonus stars!”

“You know it's not voice acted, right?” Zuko asked.

The first bonus star, the shopping star, went to Niko. The second bonus star, the minigame star, went to Lavenza and Marie.

“Hooray! We won!” Lavenza cheered.

“Not yet...” Marie said.

The third was the candy star.

“We got it, right?” Zuko said. “We used one every chance we had!”

“I think so,” Steven said.

The star zipped over to Yoshi. Niko took the last bonus star.

Lavenza gasped. She looked at Marie with hope in her eyes. “Does that mean...?”

“I believe so.” Marie set down the controller. A small smile formed on her face.

The digital confetti cleared away, and the superstar was declared to be Yoshi. Niko won the game.

There was confusion among the players, until the score was revealed. While Yoshi and Dry Bones had the same number of stars, Yoshi had more coins. Specifically, one more coin.

Niko got up and walked over to the second place players. They held out a hand. “That was fun!”

Begrudgingly, Marie shook it. “Good game...”

“Your hand is cold,” Niko pointed out.

“That's because my blood doesn't flow anymore,” Marie said, as though that was completely normal.

Over at team Waluigi, Zuko set down the controller. “Sorry I lost.”

“What do you mean?” Steven asked. “I lost, too.”

“I kept getting bad rolls,” Zuko said.

Steven patted him on the back. “You can't control the rolls you get. Besides, I made some mistakes, too. I lost a couple important minigames. Remember that duel with Niko?”

“Or that one I lost against Marie and Lavenza?” Zuko chuckled, smiling. “Yeah, you're right. It wasn't just me.”

“Don't worry, we'll win next time for sure!”

“Yeah!”

–

While the six had played their game, Dr. Therapist used the opportunity to read his friend's notes on them. He wasn't sure which was stranger: the half-magic boy who could fly and heal things with his spit (sounded safe, but also gross), the unbanished banished-prince who is now a Fire Lord (from what he could tell, this seemed to pretty much mean king), the girl who could rewind people into nothing ( _now_ he understood why Aizawa was there. He was also now worried when he thought about how frequently the average human blinked), or the girl who was pretty much a lich with a proverbial monkey's paw in her chest.

The only thing he could agree on was the kid who became the messiah to god seemed the most normal aside from, you know, becoming the messiah to god. Although, technically, they were all normal if he just dismissed what was strange about them. In retrospect, perhaps comparing strangeness was a bad idea.

“Hey, Dr. Therapist,” Steven called out. Dr. Therapist looked up to notice the game was over. “What do we do now?”

Dr. Therapist checked the clock. There were about five minutes remaining. “There's not time left for another game, so how about you chat amongst yourselves until it's time to leave. Maybe set goals to complete before next week.”

Niko turned to Zuko. They held out their bowl of snacks, which held some fish sticks. “My fish sticks are cold now. Could you heat them up?”

“Sure.” Zuko took the bowl from Niko. He held the bowl with one hand and created small flames with the other. After a few seconds, he returned the now-warm snacks to Niko. “Here you go.”

“Thanks!” Niko said. They took a bite of one of the fish sticks. They spit it out. “Hot!”

“Sorry...”

“It's okay," Niko said. "I should've checked it wasn't too warm, first.”

Elsewhere, Lavenza and Marie were discussing techniques for fighting with magic. “As an ultimate move, I summon Lucifer to blow them up!”

“I myself do not have an ultimate move,” Marie said. “I just throw enough cheap projectiles at them that they don't have a chance to get close.”

“That sounds annoying...”

“Yet effective,” Marie countered.

Steven approached the group. “Hey, Lavenza, was it? It's nice to meet you. Were you thinking of becoming a regular here at the group meetings?”

Lavenza nodded.

“I hope we can help you,” Steven said enthusiastically. “We're all willing to listen, if you need someone to talk to.”

“I will keep that in mind,” Lavenza said. She remembered something she wanted to ask. “By the way, I thought this group was hosted by Doctor-:”

“Oh right,” Steven said. “Yeah, the normal host was sick this week, so Dr. Therapist showed up as a substitute."

The man in the sleeping bag yawned as he started to get up. Dr. Therapist, who was busy gathering his things and cleaning up, waved to Aizawa. “How are your dry eyes?”

“Good,” Aizawa said. “I took a nap.”

“Oh, I didn't know your powers worked while you slept?”

“They don't.”

Dr. Therapist dropped everything he was holding. It took all he had in himself to not yell at the man. “But then her power could've-:”

“She was distracted with a game, so I figured it'd be fine.”

“That game was Mario Party! Do you know Mario Party's reputation?!”

“It was all a rationally calculated gamble.”

“How?” the doctor asked. “We win, you get a nap. We lose, we all d-... stop existing.”

Aizawa tapped his forehead. “Do you see the horn on her head?”

Dr. Therapist turned. “Yeah...”

“It's size affects her power. It's shrunk, so her power is weaker now. This means she'll be less likely to activate it.”

“I still don't see how it's a good trade-off.”

“I still don't know how you thought I was serious...” Aizawa sighed.

“Serio-: Oh thank G- higher powers.” Dr. Therapist's adrenaline levels plummeted. “I thought you seriously took a nap.”

“I did,” Aizawa said. Dr. Therapist could only stare in horror as he walked passed.

–

That evening, when Dr. Therapist returned home, he was in a phone call with his friend.

“AAACHOOO!!!” She sneezed. Not sure what else would make that noise. There was a sniffle from the other end. “Sounds like it went well, then.”

“Yup.” That was half-true. Yes, it went well. But no, Dr. Therapist felt terrified for his life the whole time. “Although, they were worried about you. They look forward to seeing you again when you're well, next week.”

“At least I know who to call if I'm sick again,” she said with a laugh and a sneeze.

“Oh, you found another substitute?” Dr. Therapist asked.

“Nope.” She laughed. “It'll be the same one as this week.”

“Please don't...” Dr. Therapist pleaded.

She laughed. Then sneezed. “Well, talk to you again later. How was the new kid? Lavender, I think it was.”

“Lavenza...” Dr. Therapist sighed. “I have some information on her you might want. Remember when I was nearly killed by three people dressed in blue because I called CPS on their sister?”

“Wait, is it-:”

“Same girl.”

His friend laughed again. “Well, I'll... I'll- ACHOO! I'll be sure to keep that in mind.”

“Please do.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!
> 
> I got the idea for this story after thinking about how many child characters in fiction need therapy. I limited myself to one-per-franchise, so I'm sorry that some obvious characters were snubbed.
> 
> I didn't get to include it very much in this, but I feel Zuko and Steven would have such a wholesome friendship if they ever met.


End file.
